integrated marketing communication

Integrated Marketing Communications
Overview
Marketing communications is one of the four major elements of the company’s marketing
mix. Marketers must know how to use advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing,
public relations, and personal selling to communicate the product’s existence and value to
the target customers.
The communication process itself consists of nine elements: sender, receiver, encoding,
decoding, message, media, response, feedback, and noise. Marketers must know how to
get through to the target audience in the face of the audience’s tendencies toward
selective attention, distortion, and recall.
Developing the promotion program involves eight steps. The communicator must first
identify the target audience and its characteristics, including the image it carries of the
product. Next the communicator has to define the communication objective, whether it is
to create awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, or purchase. A message
must be designed containing an effective content, structure, format, and source. Then
communication channels both personal and nonpersonal must be selected. Next, the total
promotion budget must be established. Four common methods are the affordable method,
the percentage-of-sales method, the competitive-parity method, and the objective-and-task
method.
The promotion budget should be divided among the main promotional tools, as affected
by such factors as push-versus-pull strategy, buyer readiness stage, product life-cycle
stage and company market rank. The marketer should then monitor to see how much of
the market becomes aware of the product, tries it, and is satisfied in the process. Finally,
all of the communications effort must be managed and coordinated for consistency, good
timing, and cost effectiveness.
Project Outline
I. Introduction—the five major modes of communication (advertising, sales promotion,
public relations, personal selling, and direct marketing)
II. The communication process—communications as the management of customer buying
processes over time, the nine elements of the communications model, reasons why
message may not get through the receiver (selective attention, selective distortion, and
selective recall)
III. Developing effective communications
A. Identify the target audience
1. Image analysis is a major part of audience analysis that entails assessing
the audience’s current image of the company, its products, and its
competitors
a) First step is to measure target audience’s knowledge of the
subject using a familiarity scale
b) Second step is to determine feelings toward the product using a
favorability scale
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2. Specific content of a product’s image is best determined with use of
semantic differential (relevant dimensions, reducing set of relevant
dimensions, administering to a sample, averaging the results, checking
on the image variance)
B. Determine the communication objectives
1. Based on seeking of a cognitive, affective, or behavioral response
2. Assuming the buyer has high involvement with the product category and
perceives high differentiation within the category, base objectives on the
hierarchy-of-effects model (hierarchy: awareness, knowledge, liking,
preference, conviction, purchase)
C. Design the message (AIDA model)
1. Message content—choosing an appeal (rational appeal to audience’s self
interest, emotional appeal attempt to stir up either positive or negative
emotions, moral appeals are directed to the audience’s sense of what is
right and proper)
2. Message structure—one-sided presentation versus two-sided argument
3. Message format—must be strong, based on headline, copy, “sound,”
nonverbal clues, color, expression, dress, etc.
4. Message source —expertise, trustworthiness and likability
D. Select the communication channels
1. Personal communication channels—direct (advocate, expert and social)
2. Nonpersonal communication channels—indirect (media, atmospheres,
events)
E. Establish the total marketing communications budget
1. Affordable method
2. Percentage-of-sales method
3. Competitive-parity method
4. Objective-and-task method
IV. Deciding on the marketing communications mix
A. Promotional tools—benefits of each tool (advertising, sales promotion, public
relations and publicity, personal selling, direct marketing)
B. Factors in setting the marketing communications mix (type of product market,
buyer-readiness stage, product-life-cycle stage)
C. Measure the communications’ results
V. Managing the integrated marketing communications process
A. A concept of marketing communications planning that recognizes the added
value of a comprehensive plan
1. Evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communications disciplines
2. Combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency and maximum
communications impact through the seamless integration of discrete
messages
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Integrated Marketing Communications
Not all product concepts are right for all individuals, thus bringing about the notion of
market segmentation and targeting. The same holds true for marketing communications.
One message does not fit all. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) focuses on
discreet customer segments. With IMC, the firm learns to understand that although mass-market
promotion appears cost-effective on the front end, brand/product messages are
also offered to millions of people who are not interested.
Mass media no longer serves the mass audiences sought by marketers. Individual
audiences for each media have decreased, thus indicating a need to ensure that whenever
and wherever the prospect is exposed to the message, he/she receives a consistent one.
Customers typically do not differentiate between message sources; they only remember
the message they received. Considering how many messages consumers are exposed to
on a regular basis, mixed messages from the same source are bound to cause confusion
and, worse yet, they will be more quickly forgotten.
Although understanding the importance of marketing communications is somewhat
simple, finding the best means through which to implement a marketing communications
program has become increasingly difficult. The buying public has been virtually buried
alive in ads. Consumers are bombarded with hundreds of ads and thousands of billboards,
packages, and other logo sightings every day.
Old advertising venues are packed to the point of impenetrability as more and more sales
messages are jammed in. Supermarkets carry 30,000 different packages (product
packages), each of which acts as a mini-billboard, up from 17,500 a decade ago. (Source:
Food Marketing Institute). Networks air 6,000 commercials a week, up 50 percent since
1983 (Source: Pretesting Co.). Prime-time TV carries up to 15 minutes of paid
advertising every hour, roughly 2–4 minutes more than at the start of the 1990s. Add in
the promos, and over 15 minutes of every prime-time hour are given over to ads. No
wonder viewers zap so many commercials.
The IMC planning process is based on a longitudinal consumer purchase database.
Ideally, this database would contain, by household, demographics, psychographics,
purchase data, and perhaps some information about how the household feels about or is
involved with the product category. In many cases, direct-marketing organizations
already have this type of information at their disposal. An IMC program is implemented
according to the needs and lifestyles of the selected target markets, thus allowing for
customized, yet consistent, message strategies to sell increasingly individualized
products.
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Sustainable Competitive Advantage Based on IMC
It has been said integrated marketing communications will be the only sustainable
competitive advantage for marketers in the near future. The other elements of the
marketing mix, product development, pricing, and distribution, can be achieved at a very
similar level, and in a similar way, among companies competing in a particular industry.
In addition, we know the customer has taken on a completely new, powerful, role in the
marketing process. Because it is largely through promotion that a company speaks most
directly to its customers, it seems appropriate that a marketer’s promotional strategy must
change to reflect the dynamics of today’s marketplace.
Some of these changes include:
· Changing technology, which has made it possible for media organizations to
identify, segment, select, and attract smaller audiences for their respective
vehicles
· The trend toward de-regulation that has allowed for increased competition within
many industries, such as air travel, banking, and utilities
· Globalization of the marketplace, which causes promotional efforts, including
advertising, sales promotion, public relations and personal selling, to be
implemented throughout a worldwide market. Customization for different cultures
is key to competing successfully in this arena
· Changes in the demographic and psychographic profiles of today’s consumers,
that have paved the way for new product category opportunities (such as health
care for the aging “baby boomers” and health food/clubs for nutrition conscious
consumers)
· Money-rich, time-poor consumers are seeking control of their purchases.
Consumers have become adept at avoiding marketing communication, through the
use of VCRs, remote controls, radio push buttons, etc. When they are listening,
the message should be simply stated and easy to understand. Today’s generation
is also more visual than verbal, thus they rely on images, symbols and graphics
more than any previous generation
It is important also to note that a marketer can communicate with customers through
means other than formal marketing communications. Every element of a product’s
marketing mix helps to position that product in the minds of consumers. The result is that
the elements of the promotional mix should all present a consistent theme. The same is
true of the other “Ps” of marketing, namely product, price and place that also should
support the theme:
1. Products communicate through size, shape, name, packaging, and various
features/ benefits.
2. Price communicates to the consumer that the product is high quality, low quality,
prestigious, common, etc.
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3. Retail locations (place) where customers purchase the product will reflect upon
the product’s image as well. Stores are thought of as “high-class,” specialty,
discount, etc.
Using Newsletters for Customized Communication
One of the newest and most effective ways to stimulate and maintain positive
communication with customers is through newsletters (print and online). Newsletters are
useful for many reasons, but one of the best reasons is that they cross the boundary
between news and advertising, providing a bit of both. Further, they bring back some
much-needed credibility that has been lost with many market segments. The newsletter
can be delivered physically, but more likely it will be made available via the Internet or
e-mail. Newsletters not only describe, in detail, a company’s philosophy, goals, and
objectives but also enhance its current marketing program. In addition, newsletters can be
utilized as communication tools for many other purposes.
Some of the advantages of newsletters include:
· Delivering continuous background or educational material to clients in an
efficient manner
· Providing highly-targeted distribution through database utilization
· Acting as a form of personal calling, on paper, to prospects and clients
· Proving more economical than other forms of promotion
· Not obvious advertising, if done correctly
· Attention-getting
· Providing the ability to create demand
· Keeping mailing lists (or e-mail lists) accurate
Possible newsletter content may also include such as items as:
· Announcements of new products and services
· Stories of products/services in application (from either the company or its
customers)
· Answers to commonly asked questions/concerns
· Information on industry trends
· Updates on new or pending legislation
· Personnel changes (but otherwise very little employee communiqué)
· Guest articles by prominent figures in the industry
· “Think” pieces—philosophy, ideas, suggestions, techniques, tactics
· Specialized news
A newsletter also provides opportunities for customer feedback:
· Brings the prospect to the marketer in the form of an inquiry
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· May solicit response through use of a formal survey
· Enables experimentation with numerous formats/contents/ promotions through
small sample test mailings
In addition, orienting articles to topics that are on the customer’s minds will guarantee
holding their interest.
Bad news should not be ignored. Any problems that are occurring, as well as actions
being taken to solve these problems, need to be addressed. After all, relationships will
have both ups and downs.
Most important, the primary goal of any newsletter should be to inform and educate
readers; it must not become the voice of management and/or marketing alone. To that
end, it must be filled with news and not exist solely to sell products/services.
Note: As a final note, you might ask the class to consider whether the newsletter
approach has found additional life on the Internet. Many Web sites include elements of
the newsletter approach in their operations. Ask the class to investigate some leading
Web sites to prove and/or disprove this point.
Marketing and Advertising
1. The magazine ad in promotes UpWords, a game marketed by the manufacturer of
the Scrabble word game. Although the game is portrayed in the ad, other elements
are more prominent.
a. Who is the target audience for this advertising message? What image of
the game would the advertiser like to create with this ad?
b. How do selective attention, selective distortion, and selective retention
apply to this advertising message?
c. What communication objectives might the game manufacturer set for this
advertising message?
Answer
a. The target audience is adults who like word games. The advertiser wants
to create an image of UpWords as being similar to—but more challenging
than—the well-known Scrabble game.
b. To overcome selective attention by attracting attention, the ad shows a
large, familiar “deer crossing” sign altered to read “deer flossing.” This
device also addresses selective retention, by reinforcing how the UpWords
game is played (by putting letters on top of other letters). Finally, the ad
addresses selective distortion by clarifying what UpWords is and how it
works (through an illustration of a game in progress and a brief description
in the body copy).
c. The advertiser might set objectives for this communication such as:
awareness, knowledge, liking, and preference, ultimately leading to
conviction and to purchase. Challenge students to suggest how the
advertiser could alter this ad to lead more directly to purchasing.
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2. Sharp incorporates a clever depiction of its imaging product’s key benefit—using
color to reach people—to attract attention and communicate with business
decision-makers in the ad shown in Figure 2.
a. Analyze this ad in terms of the hierarchy-of-effects model.
b. How is Sharp using message format to communicate with its target
audience?
c. How does Sharp establish source credibility in this advertisement?
Answer
a. This Sharp ad builds awareness by coupling the brand (shown at bottom
right) with a prominent illustration of the key benefit (color copying). It
builds knowledge by explaining how color copying can help a business. It
enhances liking and preference by explaining the benefits of Sharp’s color
copier. It supports conviction and purchase by asking “So, are you ready
to connect?” and by stressing affordability, efficiency, and upgradability.
b. Sharp’s message format reinforces the underlying message—that color
makes a difference in a business presentation—by using color to attract
attention to this ad. Students may also cite other aspects of the message
format.
c. Source credibility is established by alluding to Sharp’s expertise in color
copying and by linking Sharp to a network of authorized dealers around
the country, which may already have established reputations for expertise,
trustworthiness, and likability.
Online Marketing Today—VF
VF, which makes Lee jeans, has used the Internet to create a word-of-mouth tidal wave
around its jeans. It started by creating Web sites for Buddy Lee, a kewpie-doll character,
and Curry, a fictional race-car driver, and encouraging consumers to discover the sites on
their own or e-mail their friends about the sites. Weeks later, VF ran media ads revealing
that the characters were part of an elaborate online computer game. To advance to higher
levels in the game, players needed to input code numbers found only on Lee jeans—
which meant visiting a store and looking at Lee’s products. This integrated marketing
communications campaign helped push Lee’s sales 20 percent higher than in the previous
year.
VF continues to operate some of the sites. The Curry site is located at
http://www.rubberburner.com and one of the Buddy Lee sites is at
http://www.buddylee.com. Explore both sites. Also follow the “Lee Sites” link at the
Buddy Lee home page and review one or two of the featured sites. How does Lee
encourage consumer participation on these sites? What is the appeal of these sites? What
objectives might Lee set for campaigns that rely on word-of-mouth?
Answer
Lee offers different games, contests, and other interactive activities to encourage
consumer participation in its sites. These sites are witty, informal, interesting, and don’t
take themselves too seriously, so they’re fun for consumers to visit. Ask students to be
specific in commenting on at least one of the sites they visit. Lee might set a variety of
word-of-mouth campaign objectives, such as striving to have the message
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seen/understood by a certain number of consumers and having those consumers pass the
message along to a certain number of other consumers. Students may suggest other
objectives, as well.
You’re the Marketer—Sonic PDA Marketing Plan
Every marketing plan must include a section showing how the company will use
marketing communications to connect with customers, prospects, and other stakeholders.
Web-based communications must be integrated into the overall communications strategy
to ensure consistency of messages.
You are responsible for planning integrated marketing communications for Sonic’s
introduction of its personal digital assistant (PDA). Review the data, decisions, and
strategies you have previously documented in your marketing plan. Now use your
knowledge of communications to answer these questions:
· What audience(s) should Sonic be targeting? What image should it seek to create
for its initial PDA product?
· What objectives are appropriate for Sonic’s initial communications campaign?
· What message design and communication channel(s) are likely to be most
effective for the target audience?
· How should Sonic establish its marketing communications budget?
· Which promotional tools would be most effective in Sonic’s promotional mix?
Why?
Be sure that your marketing communications plans will support Sonic’s overall
marketing efforts. Now, as your instructor directs, summarize your thoughts in a written
marketing plan or type them into the Marketing Mix section of the Marketing Plan Pro
software.
Answer
Sonic should target the consumer and business segments it previously identified for the
new PDA product. Students may have described these segments in detail earlier in the
marketing planning process. In addition, Sonic should target channel members and other
members of the trade to build enthusiasm and support. The image for the first PDA
product depends on other decisions made in the marketing plan. For example, Sonic
could build an image around innovation (for its voice-recognition capabilities) and value
(because the PDA is priced lower than comparable models from rivals).
For the initial communications campaign, Sonic should set objectives for awareness
among the targeted segments. It may also want to set objectives for knowledge, liking,
preference, conviction, and purchase as time goes on. Initially, however, it must make the
market aware of the brand and product. Students should use their imaginations in
discussing the message design and communication channels for each target audience.
They need to plan for a mix of personal and nonpersonal channels, and to build
credibility. Sonic should establish its marketing communications budget using the
objective-and-task method, because this ties expenditures to specific objectives that will
be met. Ask students to be creative in suggesting promotional tools for Sonic’s
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promotional mix; also ask them to discuss how their choices fit with other choices and
strategies made earlier in the marketing planning process. For example, students may
suggest a mix of consumer and trade advertising, sales promotion, public relations,
personal selling, and online or direct marketing.
Marketing Spotlight—Mountain Dew Code Red
When Pepsi-Cola’s total volume increased a mere tenth of a percent in 2000, the
company quickly sought to boost sales by launching the first line extension of its popular
Mountain Dew drink because Diet Mountain Dew debuted in 1988. A cross-functional
team comprised of 35 people from seven Pepsi departments worked on developing the
new product. The team considered several possibilities: Dew H20 bottled water; Dew
Unplugged decaf Mountain Dew; a Mountain Dew sports drink; and a new Dew flavor.
The company settled on creating a new flavor, and within 10 months, instead of the usual
two years it takes Pepsi to develop a new product, launched a bright red cherry-flavored
beverage called Mountain Dew Code Red.
For the launch, Pepsi used radio and outdoor advertising, as well as sampling and in-store
merchandising. To build buzz for Code Red, the company sent free samples to 4,000
select consumers, such as hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri and radio DJ Funkmaster
Flex. The drink was heavily sampled at marquee sporting events such as the NCAA Final
Four and ESPN’s 2001 winter X games. Pepsi also developed a special Website for the
brand that featured an interactive game called “Mission: Code Red 2.” Additionally,
Pepsi marketed Code Red to urban consumers. When research revealed that urban and
ethnic focus groups preferred the name Code Red to Wild Cherry Mountain Dew, Pepsi
stuck with the former. The company also developed an ad campaign titled “Crack the
Code” that used graffiti-art design elements and an urban setting.
Code Red attracted a rabid fanbase. According to A.C. Nielsen, Code Red tested in the
top five percent of all new product concepts ever tested among teens. The drink was also
popular in the high-tech community. Two programmers who discovered a computer virus
named it “Code Red” after the beverage they used to maintain late hours in front of their
monitors. The virus eventually infected more than 700,000 computers. Pepsi sent the pair
five cases of Code Red in appreciation for the free publicity.
Within two months of its May 2000 launch, Code Red was the fifth-best-selling soft
drink sold at convenience stores and gas stations (Mountain Dew is number one). This
signaled tremendous success, considering that the drink came in only two single-serve
sizes and the muted marketing campaign did not yet include television spots. Though the
drink was launched midway through the second quarter of 2000, Pepsi credited the Code
Red launch with helping to boost net sales 20 percent to $962 million that quarter. One
bottler exclaimed “It’s flown off the shelves for us.”
Sources: www.mountaindew.com; Hillary Chura. “Pepsi-Cola’s Code Red Is White Hot.”
Advertising Age, August 27, 2001, p. 1; Maureen Tkacik and Betsy McKay. “Code Red:
PepsiCo’s Guerilla Conquest.” Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2001, p. B5; Abigail
Klingbeil. “The Making of a Brand.” Gannett News Service, June 29, 2001
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REPUBLIC OF TURKEY, MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND
TOURISM ARTICLES AND CONDITIONS ON 2009 ADVERTISING
CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATION/ MARKETING STRATEGIES
Campaign proposals should be in compliance with the below given objectives of the
Ministry:
1. OBJECTIVE
Turkey’s touristic promotion with a focus on specific destinations, at the times when
world touristic markets accelerate and travel dates are set is the objective of the
advertising campaign. It is also important to reach the following marketing and
communications goals throughout the tender proposals:
Marketing goals:
- Expanding Turkey's market share in main markets, preserving share in the
mature markets, and increasing the share in the developing markets.
- Increasing the total number of visitors by 10% and the revenue by 12%.
- Increasing the percentage of the number of tourists with high income
levels.
- Increasing tourists’ individual spending and the duration of their stay.
- Expanding the demand for tourism to 12 months by decreasing the impact
of seasonality.
- Increasing the share of culture, golf, congress, yacht, city, health and eco
tourism.
- Ensuring a balanced distribution of touristic activities to Turkey's different
regions.
Communication goals:
- To position “Turkey” as a positive and well known touristic destination
- To increase awareness for natural richness and historical places of Turkey through
destination marketing
- To emphasize the variety and harmony of Turkey’s tourism products
- To position Turkey and destinations such as Istanbul as an important
alternative for short breaks (Easter, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, school holidays
etc.)
- To promote the international sports activities, cultural and artistic events taking
place in Turkey
- To cherish friendly and welcoming human factor with slices of life
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2. PRODUCT
Turkey's tourism product is composed of harmonious, compatible components which
stimulate different types of people.
a) Natural opportunities,
- Sea, beach and the sun
- Clean and virgin coasts
- Clean and unspoiled natural beauties (plateau, mountain, river, lake,
forest, fauna and flora)
In these places;
- Yachting
- Surfing
- Underwater sports
- Winter sports
- Golf
- Health tours (thermal water resources)
- Plateau/highland tours
- Rafting
- Mountaineering
- Trekking
- Cave tours/Spelunking
- Bird watching
- Ecological tours are possible.
b) Historic places:
Turkey inherited historic and cultural values from 13 great civilizations and three
monotheistic religions.
- Religious centers
- Archeological ruins
- Trade routes
- Cities
- Museums
- Historical routes (Silk Road, Hittite, Saint Paul, Lycian Way etc.)
c) Cultural and humanitarian values:
- Turkish cuisine (food and drink)
- Turkish hospitality, warm human approach
- Folklore
- Entertainment
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d) Supportive elements:
- Shopping opportunities
- Quality of accommodations (modern, boutique, new)
- Geography - travel opportunities and conveniences
- Climate conditions
3. SALES METHODS IN TOURISM
- Mass marketing (with historical, cultural, natural themes) - via tour
operators
- Congress and incentive tourism
- Individual tourism
- Youth tourism
4. TURKEY'S IMPORTANT DESTINATIONS
- Istanbul
- Cappadocia
- Antalya
- Pamukkale
- Ephesus
- Mount Nemrut
- Black Sea Region
- Aegean Seaside
- Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia
5. OTHER
- Istanbul, being selected as the “2010 European Capital of Culture” is also
an additional and important product.
- Istanbul Culture and Art Festival and similar activities are the products
which can increase the demand for city and youth tourism.
Sub campaigns can be planned for these activities.
6. PROVISION ON TARGET MARKETS
Campaign proposals must be designed in accordance with the target markets (see
attachment 1), the tourism demand for Turkey (holiday tourism largely based on sea-sun-beach,
history and culture tourism, golf, yachting, health, congress and shopping tourism
etc.) in these individual markets and the corresponding budgets.
The proposals should emphasize:
- Uniqueness of Turkey, in perception of target groups
- Primarily destinations and locations, also including the human factor and
the values,
- Easy access for the nearby countries, regions
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- Quality of the vacation for distant countries - quality/price/presentation
ratio
7. TARGET CONSUMER PROFILE
- Middle and high education and income levels
- Sensitive about the price but at the same time giving importance to the product
quality
- Young and middle-age groups and also 3. age group
- Frequent travelers
The groups having abovementioned characteristics should be targeted.
8. NOTEWORTHY COMPONENTS IN ADVERTISEMENTS
- The current country logo is planned to be used during the new tender
process as well. Nevertheless, some special applications may be developed
for destinations.
- A globally valid slogan is needed that would not lose its meaning when
translated into different languages and that can be used through all
disciplines. The need is not limited to a mere slogan; it should be
perceived as a search for an integral idea that can be used in multi
disciplined manner.
- As the tender will be finalized during the winter term and the marketing
shall need to start in the same period. Hence it should be noted that a very
tight schedule may occur concerning production. This should be taken into
consideration as planning the TV commercials.
- Alongside a comprehensive Turkey TV commercial and Istanbul TV
commercials, the Ministry has already five different destination films
(Eastern, and Southeastern Anatolia, Cappadocia, Turquoise Coast
"Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye", Antalya, Thermal-Health) the
aforementioned TV Commercials can be viewed at
www.kulturturizm.gov.tr . New campaigns can be prepared in
conjunction with the existing films.
- Diversity and new approaches should be reflected in outdoor campaigns
(subway, movie theater, airport road, railway stations, luggage collection
areas, shopping centers, busses, bus stops, sightseeing busses, sport
centers, theaters, opera and ballet houses, art gallery entrances, museum
entrances, façades and the surroundings of international buildings).
9. REGARDING COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
- A peaceful, contemporary country with self-respect should be the overall
tone of communications
- Different and genuine national humanitarian values should be emphasized.
- In the world tourism Internet is becoming a determining factor for
decision making. Proposals for the 2009 tender should include Internet
both for direct sales as well as creating value.
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- The special advertisement campaigns for the important international,
sports, arts and cultural events and fairs should be prepared ahead of time
and they should be enlisted in the media plans.
10. CRISIS MANAGEMENT
The events which may affect Turkey's advertising and publicity campaigns in a negative
way, such as:
- Counterpropaganda, war, biological threat
- Regional economic or political problems
- Developments which can affect price and profit margins
- Natural disasters etc.
should be eliminated as soon as possible, in an effective way. Additionally, a proactive
approach strategy must be determined in order to
- Protect the current image and prevent a negative image of the country
- Prevent a possible reduction in the demand
- Determine the priority markets in order to preserve the general level of demand.
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVITIES
The chart below highlights many of the marketing activities that entrepreneurs employ
during their start up and emerging stages of evolution. Their objectives, strategies and
communication media typically revolve around:
 Marketing Objectives: Adoption of new product amongst early adopter/innovator
customers/segments. Securing initial early majority customers. Start to build trust in
company through brand.
 Communication Strategies: Create awareness and interest among innovators and early
adopters.
 Communication Media: Publicity, personal selling, advertising and promotion.
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Which of these marketing activities have you employed in your Marketing
Plan?
Are there activities that you are not using – and should be!
Activity Role Key Values/Initiatives Audience
Brand – Corporate
 Name
 Logo
 Identity
 Company we
keep actions
Brand – Product
 Adoption
Literature
 Sales Guides
 Sales Brochures
 Sales
Information
 Corporate
Advertising
TV
Press
Radio
Outdoor
Cinema
Associate company
name/logo with
Product category
Need
Build trust and
credibility
Build trust and
credibility
Reinforce brand
and product
positioning
Promote brand
positioning
Affect sales by
inspiring audience
to seek information
Position central messages
Tag line
Tag line
Tag line
Prospects
Customers
Staff
Intermediaries
Influencers
Prospects
Customers
Staff
Intermediaries
Influencers
Prospects
Customers
Staff
Intermediaries
Influencers
Public Relations -
Consumer
Raise Awareness
Stimulate Interest
Position Central Messages
Tag line
Prospects
Customers
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Reinforce Brand
Positioning
Inform / Educate
Staff
Intermediaries
Influencers
Developing Integrated Marketing Communications
1. Describe integrated marketing communications
Promotion is communication about an organization and their product, which is intended
to inform, persuade, or remind target-market members. The particular combination of
promotion methods a firm uses to reach a target market is called its promotion mix or
marketing communications mix. Advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and
public relations may be combined in varying degrees to achieve marketing and
organizational goals. Integrated marketing communications is coordination of promotion
efforts to ensure maximum informational and persuasive impact on customers. Until
recently, suppliers of marketing communications were specialists—advertising agencies
did advertising campaigns, sales promotion firms provided sales promotion activities, and
public relations firms engaged in PR efforts.
2. Understand the role of promotion
Promotion's basic role is to facilitate exchanges directly or indirectly by informing
individuals, groups, or organizations and influencing them to accept a firm’s products or
to have more positive feelings about the firm. How does promotion accomplish this? By
combining the elements of a promotion mix to best get the message to the target market.
The promotion mix contains four elements:
(1) advertising is a paid, non-personal message communicated to a select audience
through a mass medium;
(2) personal selling is personal communication aimed at informing customers and
persuading them to buy a firm’s products;
(3) sales promotion is the use of activities or materials as direct inducements to customers
or salespersons; and
(4) public relations are communication activities used to create and maintain favorable
relations between an organization and various public groups, both internal and external.
3. Explain the purpose of the three types of advertising
Of all the elements in the promotion mix, advertising is the most visible. Advertising may
be classified in one of three ways: primary demand, selective demand, or institutional.
The purpose of primary-demand advertising is to increase the demand for all products
within a given industry, such as milk, orange juice, or pork. Selective demand (or brand)
advertising is used to sell a particular brand of product and is by far the most common
type. Within this category is advertising aimed at persuading people to make purchases
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within a short time, called immediate-response advertising, and advertising aimed at
keeping a firm’s name or product before the public, called reminder advertising.
Comparative advertising looks at the specific features of two or more identified brands.
The last type, institutional advertising, is used to enhance a firm’s image or reputation.
4. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the major advertising media
Firms use advertising media, various forms of mass communication to reach their
audience. Newspaper advertising accounts for about 13.7% of all advertising
expenditures, the vast majority of which is bought by local retailers. Newspaper
advertising is relatively inexpensive and targeted locally; on the downside, though, it has
a short life span, color reproduction is not high quality, and it can’t target specific
demographic groups effectively.
Magazine advertising accounts for about 4.9% of advertising expenditures. Advertisers
can reach very specific market segments using magazines. Other advantages include
high-quality color reproduction and a longer life span; but the cost is much higher and
they lack timeliness.
Direct-mail advertising is promotional material mailed directly to individuals. Some
organizations use direct e-mail. It is the most selective medium, although its success
depends on up-to-date mailing lists. It is relatively costly, and accounts for almost 21.7%
of all expenditures.
Yellow pages advertising, consisting of simple listings or display advertisements
presented under specific product categories appears in both print and online telephone
directories. An advantage of Yellow Pages advertising is that customers use it to save
time in finding products, to find information quickly, and to learn about products and
marketers. Unlike other types of advertising media, Yellow Pages advertisements are
purchased for one year and cannot be changed. In 2008, advertisers spent $14.2 billion on
yellow-pages advertising, which accounts for about 5.0% of total advertising
expenditures. Approximately 85 percent of yellow pages advertising space is used by
local advertisers instead of national advertisers.
Out-of-home advertising consists of short promotional messages on billboards, posters,
signs, and transportation vehicles. It accounts for about 2.2% of advertising expenditures.
It allows a marketer to focus geographically and it is inexpensive, but the message must
be limited to a few words.
Television ranks first in advertising revenue, with almost 25% of advertising
expenditures. TV provides advertisers with considerable access to consumers. Firms may
buy network time, which means their messages will be broadcast by hundreds of stations,
or local time on a single station that covers a particular geographic area. Advertisers may
sponsor an entire show, participate with other sponsors, or buy spot time for a single
commercial between programs. Marketers also may pay a fee to have a product appear in
a TV program or movie, an activity called product placement. Another option is an
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infomercial, a program-length televised commercial message resembling an
entertainment or consumer affairs program. Television advertising is expensive, both to
buy time as well as to prepare the ad. It also has a very short life span.
Radio accounts for about 6.6% of advertising expenditures. Radio can be used selectively
and can be less expensive than other media. The disadvantages are the lack of visual
images and small audience size.
Internet, which accounts for 4.1% of total advertising expenditures and is growing. The
most common type is the banner ad, a rectangular graphic that may contain interactivity
and animation at the top of most consumer websites. Other types include the sponsorship
or co-branded ad, which contains the firm’s name and editorial content; and the
interstitial ad, which pops up when a viewer clicks on a website. Disadvantages include
the relatively simplistic nature of the ads that can be produced and the lack of evidence
that net browsers actually pay attention to the ads. (LO 4 ends)
5. Identify the major steps in developing an advertising campaign
An advertising campaign includes 8 steps.
Step 1 is identifying and analyzing the target audience. The target audience is the group
of people toward which a firm’s advertisements are directed.
Step 2 is defining the advertising objectives. The objectives should include the firm’s
current position, indicate how far and in what direction the company wishes to go, and
specify a time period to achieve the goals.
Step 3 is creating the advertising platform. An advertising platform includes the
important selling points or features that an advertiser wants to emphasize.
Step 4 is determining the advertising appropriation. This is the total amount of money
designated for advertising in a given period.
Step 5 is developing the media plan. A media plan specifies exactly which media will be
used and when the advertisements will appear.
Step 6 is creating the advertising message. The content and form of a message are
influenced by the product’s features, the characteristics of the target market, the
objectives of the campaign, and the choice of media.
Step 7 is executing the campaign. This requires extensive planning, scheduling, and
coordination because many tasks must be completed on time.
And finally, Step 8 is evaluating advertising effectiveness. Success should be measured in
terms of the original objectives, before, during, and /or after the campaign.
In order to help coordinate all these activities, a firm may hire an advertising agency, an
independent firm that plans, produces, and places advertising for its clients.
Although some critics claim that advertising is wasteful and deceptive, evidence
points to the contrary. Among advertising benefits are that it is the most effective and
least expensive means of communicating product information, it encourages competition,
it pays for much of our news coverage and entertainment programming, and it provides
many and varied job opportunities. (LO 5 ends)
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6. Recognize the various kinds of sales persons, the steps in the personal selling process,
and the major sales management tasks
The second element in the promotional mix is personal selling. This is the most adaptable
method of marketing communication because the person who is presenting the message
can modify it to suit the individual buyer. There are several kinds of salespersons. An
order getter is responsible for selling the firm’s products to new customers and increasing
sales to present customers. This is sometimes called creative selling. In contrast, an order
taker handles repeat sales in ways that maintain positive relationships with customers.
Depending on the firm, inside order takers may receive incoming mail and telephone
orders, or they may be salespersons in retail stores. Outside, or field order takers travel to
customers. Order takers often produce most of their firms’ sales. Sales support personnel
aid in selling but are more involved in locating prospects, educating customers, building
goodwill for the firm, and providing follow-up service. These support personnel include
the missionary salesperson, who is generally employed by the manufacturer, and who
visits retailers to persuade them to buy the manufacturer’s products; the trade
salesperson, who is generally employed by a food producer or processor, and who assists
customers in promoting products, especially in retail stores; and the technical
salesperson, who assists the company’s current customers in technical matters.
Though no two selling situations are exactly alike and no two salespeople perform
in exactly the same way, most follow a six step procedure.
(1) prospecting,
(2) approaching the prospect,
(3) making the presentation,
(4) answering objections,
(5) closing the sale, and
(6) following up.
Sales managers are responsible for facilitating the efforts of the sales force by hiring and
training effective salespeople, setting objectives for them, developing a training program,
formulating a fair compensation plan, and motivating them. They are also responsible for
creating sales territories and evaluating sales performance. (LO 6 ends)
7. Describe sales promotion objectives and methods
The third component of the promotion mix is sales promotion, the activities or
materials that are direct inducements to customers or salespersons. Generally, the
objectives of sales promotion are to draw new customers, to encourage trial purchases of
a new product, to invigorate sales of a mature brand, to boost sales to current customers,
to reinforce advertising, to increase traffic in retail stores, to steady irregular sales
patterns, to build up reseller inventories, to neutralize competitive promotional efforts,
and to improve shelf space and displays. They accomplish this by using one or more of
the several promotional methods available to them. Most of these methods or techniques
are either consumer sales promotion methods that they are designed to attract consumers
to particular retail stores and motivate them to purchase certain new or established
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products; or trade sales promotion methods, which are designed to encourage wholesalers
and retailers to stock and actively promote a manufacturer’s product.
Marketers may use one or more of several promotional methods. A rebate is a
return of part of the purchase price of a product. A coupon reduces the retail price of a
particular item by a stated amount at the time of purchase. A sample is a free product
given to customers to encourage trial and purchase. A premium is a gift that a producer
offers the customer in return for buying its product. A frequent-user incentive is a
program developed to reward customers who engage in repeat or frequent purchases. A
point-of-purchase display is promotional material placed within a retail store. It may hold
merchandise or inform customers about the features of the product and encourage them to
buy it. A trade show is an industry-wide exhibit at which many sellers display their
products. A buying allowance is a temporary price reduction to resellers for purchasing
specified quantities of a product. Finally, cooperative advertising is an arrangement
whereby a manufacturer agrees to pay a certain amount of the retailer’s media cost for
advertising the manufacturer’s product. (LO 7 ends)
8. Understand the types and uses of public relations
The fourth and final component of the promotion mix is public relations, the broad set of
activities used to create and maintain favorable relationships between the organization
and various public groups , both internal and external. PR professionals prepare
brochures, newsletters, company magazines, annual reports, and news releases. Other
tools include speeches and event sponsorship.
Some PR tools are associated with publicity, which is communication in news-story form
about an organization, its products, or both. Publicity is transmitted through the mass
media at no charge. The most common type of publicity is the news release, a typed page
of about 300 words provided by an organization to the media as a form of publicity.
Other publicity tools are the feature article, a piece (of up to 3,000 words), prepared by an
organization for inclusion in a particular publication; a captioned photograph, a picture
accompanied by a brief explanation; and a press conference, a meeting at which invited
media personnel hear important news announcements and receive supplementary textual
materials and photographs. Public relations can be used to enhance the reputation of an
organization and also to reduce the unfavorable effects of negative events. (LO 8 ends)
9. Identify the factors that influence the selection of promotion-mix ingredients. How do
marketers select promotion mix ingredients? They develop a promotional campaign. A
promotional campaign is a plan for combining and using the four promotional methods:
advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations, in a particular
promotion mix to achieve one or more marketing goals. Marketing objectives that can be
satisfied by promotional activities include
(1) providing information,
(2) increasing market share,
(3) positioning a product, which is developing a product image in buyers’ minds relative
to the images they have of competing products, and
(4) stabilizing sales.
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Factors that can influence the selection of promotion mix elements include the budget,
organizational objectives, the characteristics of the target market or markets, and the
availability of certain promotional methods.
Suggested Responses
1. Most analysts would admit that there is little need for another soft drink. Pepsi did
an excellent job with an IMC-based marketing strategy that was very creative,
along with a rather off-beat guerrilla-oriented application of IMC. This, along
with the willingness to apply superior support to the effort, did the job. This
creativity worked and drew a much broader demographic than expected and thus
made the campaign highly successful. Of course, they had considerable good luck
related to the computer virus matter.
Code Red demonstrates many of the IMC concepts discussed in the text. Because it
already had a lot of loyal drinkers (Mountain Dew), and even though the focus of the
marketing demographic was young, there were some random variables (Code Red virus)
that added substantially and allowed the eventual demographic to cut across every
demographic and age group. It may have started with the younger and techie segments,
but the additional “news” value provided by the virus issue provided the basis for a much
broader PR-oriented application.
When combined with Pepsi’s already superior integrated campaign experiences,
including the Internet, Code Red and Pepsi come across somewhat like Anheuser Busch
and the friendly frogs. Pepsi also successfully utilized big name celebrities online before
airing on TV, and this likely created some overlap. Pepsi also provided numerous
incentives for customers to register on the Website, with votes for favorite celebrity
commercial.
2. During the past several years, Pepsi has crafted an effective strategy for running
integrated marketing campaigns, and other marketers probably would be smart to
steal a page from its playbook. Step one is to create a commercial starring a big-name
celebrity who can command enough buzz to entice people to view it online
before it airs on television. Step two is to give customers an added incentive to
register on your Website. For instance, Pepsi frequently will host a sweepstakes or
let visitors vote for their favorite soda commercials.
Pepsi has done well with the formula. Most recently the beverage giant used this
integrated marketing approach for a Britney Spears–driven promotion launched during
the 2002 Super Bowl. Pepsi created three different Britney spots and invited Yahoo!
visitors to view them and vote on their favorite. The commercials were viewed more than
3 million times between January 20 and February 3. More than 415,000 people voted.
Add that to the 30 million that saw the Pepsi ads during the Super Bowl telecast, and you
have some serious bang for the buck.
To some extent, integrated marketing is all about the data. Pepsi added over 500,000 e-mail
addresses to its database during the 2002 Academy Awards effort. Having a
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database full of qualified leads for future promotions is as good as cold cash to a
marketer; it represents a list with which to promote new products and gather active
customers you can easily communicate with. According to Pepsi’s head of online
marketing, more than 40 percent of the e-mails Pepsi sends out actually get opened—an
impressive figure.
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